You are right to start preparing for the application early - good planning!
Firstly, you should look at which exams you will be taking at your current school. US universities are very familiar with A-levels and GCSEs - but not with BTECs or any vocational qualifications. So it may be difficult to get them even accept non-standard or less academically demanding qualifications, and you have to plan your studies accordingly.
Also, check their current subject requirements - they usually expect you to complete a standard high school curriculum in the last 4 years of your school, such as 4 years of English (it is OK to take 2 GCSEs - English and English Literature - 2 years each, simultaneously), 2 years of each of full sciences, a foreign language, a social science etc. If you narrow your studies down too early, you will already not meet their entry requirements.
Besides, these schools have HASS (Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences) requirements to complete a wide range of courses within their programmes, so if you do not enjoy English and humanities, and really want to focus on engineering only, you will struggle in their programmes and may be better off applying to a purely engineering school, not to a liberal arts college like Harvard.
Obviously, you have to have very strong grades in all your exams - they convert them to GPA, and every grade counts towards it. Most strong applicants have near-perfect GPA.
You also need to start preparing for SAT/ACT test - tests are now mandatory for both schools, and the average score of admitted MIT applicants is near-perfect range - like for SAT, 99% of admitted applicant have the score of 790-800 in Maths and 750-800 in English. Test scores form a part of your academic profile for the admissions purposes.
Finally, in terms of extracurriculars etc, since you are in an engineering college, you should look to complete some interesting projects building things - could be physical or software products. Look up MIT maker portfolios videos on YouTube to get an idea what people do. Just note that you cannot include any of your schoolwork in extracurricular activities - they really want you to do these things in your own time. You can also look doing some research projects if this interests you.
Also, find some volunteering activities linked to engineering or some of your other passions, so you have a few activities to show for each passion to show depth, and these schools really want you to try and make the world around you better.
I responded to another comment here, that the financial side should not be a concern since both these schools are need-blind and full need for international students (if they offer you a place of course!).
Finally, look at Sutton Trust programme and apply if you qualify - they offer full support with US universities applications. Also, Fulbright has a lot of information and runs regular events covering US unis admissions.